OPINION: Prior my service as an American diplomat in Mongolia, my knowledge of that country focused largely on Genghis Khan, Marco Polo and the Gobi Desert. As I later discovered, it sometimes also appears in international headlines as a land-locked country situated between Russia and China that emerged out of the Soviet shadow in the early 1990s to unexpectedly establish both a functioning democracy and vibrant free market economy.

In most respects, Florida and Mongolia could hardly be more different: Nearly 10 times the size of Florida in land area but with a population of only 3 million people, Mongolia is the least densely populated country on earth. It also has no beaches, few tourists and temperatures that in winter routinely drop to 40 degrees below zero.

Yet Ted Yoho, Gainesville’s representative in Congress, is on the verge of making an out-size contribution to Mongolia as a strategic ally and friend that regards the United States as its “third neighbor,” helping to balance the tremendous pressure it receives from neighboring Russia and China.

In the early 1990s, creative bipartisan policymaking in Washington supported Mongolia’s reengagement with the world as well as its emergence as a successful member of the world-wide community of democracies. For its part, Mongolia has supported the United States in a number of ways including with its deployment of soldiers as part of the international effort in Afghanistan.

Academic and other partnerships have also been established. For example, the National Institutes of Health and the University of Florida have partnered with Mongolia to train teams to mitigate zoonotic disease problem among animals in Mongolia, a welcome initiative given Mongolia’s nomadic tradition and the fact that sheep, goats, horses, camels and yak out-number its people by nearly 20-1. For Mongolia, healthy livestock truly means a healthy economy.

Against this backdrop, it is especially appropriate that Congressman Yoho — a large animal veterinarian who also happens to chair the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific — has become the catalyst for gathering support for Mongolia as part of a special congressional session entitled “China’s Strategy to Accrue Global Power.” In his words, “The United States must stand up to China’s revisionism in mercantilist economics.”

As part of the Washington discussion on tariffs and trade, Yoho crafted innovative legislation that combines his interest and commitment to both foreign affairs and animals.

For Mongolia, tariff issues loom large, especially because of the dominant role that cashmere, a unique animal fiber combed from the soft underbelly of goats, plays as a source of income and employment in the country’s vast countryside. Indeed, Mongolia is the second largest producer of cashmere in the world, trailing only China.

U.S. imports from Mongolia are tiny. However, an increase in trade — including trade in cashmere and related products — would have a big impact on Mongolia in terms of the size and health of its economy, expanding economic opportunity to its herders while also strengthening its political and economic independence.

As U.S. ambassador to Mongolia between 2009 and 2012, I saw first hand the important role that economics can play as part of our broader strategic relationship. Mongolia buys aircraft from Boeing, locomotive engines from General Electric and heavy equipment from Caterpillar. But it also needs to sell its own products to other countries including the United States.

Yoho’s initiative will do just that, strengthening a U.S. ally in ways that do not jeopardize U.S. jobs, compete directly with U.S. products or require foreign aid. At the same time, it will significantly strengthen relations with a previously isolated country that has rejected dictatorship, asserted independence and actively cultivates global partnerships.

As the United States looks for ways to shape fair trading relationships in Northeast Asia while also advancing its own geo-strategic interests, Yoho’s legislation does both, offering targeted trade preference for Mongolian textiles (including cashmere) while deepening the political and economic partnership between the two countries.

If this legislation is approved, it will also constitute a remarkable achievement by “Congress’ only Republican veterinarian,” adding economic value to the tens of millions of livestock populating Mongolia’s deserts, steppes and grasslands in ways that help Mongolian herders, benefit American consumers and advance diplomatic engagement between Mongolia and the United States.

Jonathan Addleton served as U.S. ambassador to Mongolia during 2009-2012. A retired Foreign Service Officer, he teaches at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.; serves as executive director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies; and authored “Mongolia and the United States: A Diplomatic History” (Hong Kong University Press, 2013).

Published Date:2018-08-14